1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to articles of jewelry such as bracelets, anklets, necklaces and the like, collectively referred to as "articles of jewelry", having one or more mountings for holding a gem stone in moveable relationship to the article of jewelry when the jewelry is being worn.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, articles of jewelry have included gem mountings associated in slideable relationship with the jewelry. Referring to FIG. 8 of the drawings, a gem mounting of the prior art in association with an article of jewelry, such as a bracelet, is shown. The prior art bracelet of FIG. 8 includes a pair of parallel tracks for receiving a sliding gem mounting which would move within the tracks of the bracelet. The gem mounting of the prior art protrudes from the upper surface of the bracelet and protrudes from the lower surface of the bracelet that is in contact with the skin. As a result of the contact with the skin of the wearer, the gem mounting of the prior art is impeded from traveling within the tracks by the user's skin and therefore, the gem mounting would not freely move in slideable relationship to the bracelet when it was being worn.
Therefore, there exists a need for an article of jewelry having a gem mounting in moveable relationship to the article of jewelry which is capable of traveling freely with respect to the article of jewelry and unimpeded by the user's skin when the article is being worn.